Micro-floppy disks (or diskettes) are used in the data processing industry for storing computer programs, data, etc. The micro-floppy disks are flat, circular sheets of plastic having magnetic particles which store digital data. The plastic disks are stored inside rectangular envelopes or jackets which prevent the disks from being damaged and provides convenient storage of the disks. The micro-floppy disk consists of the circular plastic disk which is permanently enclosed by the rectangular envelope. Unlike the so called "floppy disks" in widespread use which are of 8" or 51/4" size, and which are further enclosed in an essentially square envelope of flexible material, the micro-floppy disks range in size from 3" to 31/2", and may be either rectangular or square in outline. In addition, the micro-floppy disks are packaged in a semi-rigid plastic material such that the package is not flexible. Also unlike the larger floppy disks, the semi-rigid package of the micro-floppy disk is enclosed such that the recording media is not exposed to the external environment except when the micro-floppy disks are in place in a micro-floppy disk drive.
A magnetic recording/detecting head inside the disk drive reads or writes digital data from or to the spinning plastic disk. The micro-floppy computer disk is a particularly convenient and compact device for storing relatively large amounts of digital data. Micro-floppy disks are typically used for personal computers and smaller computer systems including microcomputers and minicomputers. Typically, a micro-floppy disk is loaded through a slot in the front of a disk drive. When the disk is fully in place, the internal mechanism of the disk drive lowers the disk onto a spindle connected to a motor. The motor causes the disk to rotate beneath the recording/detecting head, and the head can be positioned to read data from or write data to the magnetic storage media of the disk. After completion of operation on the disk, the micro-floppy disk can be ejected from the disk drive and replaced by another disk.
Of course, the loading and ejection of micro-floppy disks can be performed manually. However, because the computer industry is a very volatile and fast-moving market, it is desirable for computer program suppliers to have a large number of computer program copies on micro-floppy disks available for immediate delivery when revisions, updates, or new programs are announced. In order to exert quality control in the use of or production of micro-floppy disks, it is desirable to have ways to rapidly copy and test large numbers of disks during manufacturing of the disks and during the process of transferring computer data or programs to the disks. Manually, loading the disks into and ejecting the disks from a disk drive for copying and/or verifying would be time-consuming and would introduce the probability of human error into the process. Thus, automatic loader assemblies have been manufactured to load disks into a disk drive and sort the disks after they are ejected from the disk drive.
The prior art loader assemblies sequentially feed 51/2" floppy disks in a flexible package into a copy disk drive and sort the floppy disks into two separate bins as they exit from the disk drive. These prior art loaders utilize the ability to transport the flexible diskette packages between rollers or similar devices. However, the semi-rigid packaging of the micro-floppy disks does not lend itself to being transported to and from the disk drive via roller mechanisms. Thus, the recent development of the micro-floppy disks requires a new and innovative method of loading the disks into the disk drive, receiving the ejected disks from the disk drive, and transporting the disks to the selected output bin.